See what our new transparency project reveals about family separations during the zero-tolerance policy.
Dear John,
For years, details on how the first Trump administration carried out family separation during the implementation of the “zero-tolerance” policy were hidden behind redacted files and official denials.
Now, thanks to years of litigation by the American Immigration Council, key documents about the government’s response to the zero-tolerance policy are finally public.
Our new Family Separation Transparency Project reveals how chaos was used as a weapon—how officials literally erased families from government databases, misled the public, and justified one of the most shameful and horrific immigration policies in modern U.S. history.
Officials knew their data was “corrupt.” ICE leaders privately admitted they couldn’t trust their own records about children separated from their families.
Chaos was intentional. Confusion wasn’t a failure of policy—it was the policy. It slowed family reunifications and shielded officials from responsibility.
Oversight helped end family separation. Congress and journalists’ demand for answers contributed to end the policy, but many of those watchdogs have since been defunded or sidelined.
The project includes interactive records, data visualizations, and audio readings by actor Corey Stoll that bring to life the never-before-seen emails and documents showing just how deep the callousness ran.
This isn’t just history. It’s a warning. Some of the same tactics that fueled family separation are reemerging today through the administration’s mass deportation agenda.
